Chicken Breed Focus - Araucana

[pginsber]

Here's a gorgeous clean faced male, 20 weeks old, ready to be bred to your flock. PM me if you're interested.
Indianapolis, Indiana

 

[JDE99156]

Which is supposedly the Araucana? Those both look like easter eggers to me.

The one on my lap is a Buff Orpington the one on my shoulder is the Araucana.

 

[allosaurusrock]

The one on my lap is a Buff Orpington the one on my shoulder is the Araucana.

She is an easter egger- Aracaunas don't have tails, and no hatchery sells them. However, easter eggers are terrific birds- I have three in my flock.

 

[exoticpoultry]

Actually there is a hatchery that sells them awesome araucana hatchery the are NPIP and Mr. Edd Sheppard the owner has been breeding ketros and collancas the two breeds that created the araucana for 45 years.

 

[exoticpoultry]

Hey also has many different lines of araucana.

 

[exoticpoultry]

If anyone is interested in araucanas or amauracanas I would try awesome araucana hatchery and sand castle farms they breed true amauracana in blue, black, Wheaton, blue Wheaton and some Times splash Wheaton.

 

[Ravynscroft]

If anyone is interested in araucanas or amauracanas I would try awesome araucana hatchery and sand castle farms they breed true amauracana in blue, black, Wheaton, blue Wheaton and some Times splash Wheaton.

Edd Sheppard will no longer be selling Araucanas to the public at the close of the year... he is retiring as a breeder for the public...

Sand Castle Farms is Susan Mouw... she's frequently on the Ameraucana thread, username samouw... many breeders of true Am's are also on that thread...

 

[Jewls819]

This is an old thread but I breed Duckwing colored Araucana. This breed is so rare today. It took me 2 years to establish a good flock. I have a mix of clean face, ST and DT. These are some of the most friendliest chickens ever.

 

[exoticpoultry]

Are you NPIP, if so I am extremely interested please let me know via PM or private message.


Thanks so much.

 

[NanaClucker]

Though most famous for its blue eggs, the Araucana is a very unique looking bird, recognizable by its feather ear tufts. The rest of the standard varies by country, (muffs, beards and tails allowed or required in some countries but disqualifications in the US and Canada), all standards require the bird to have ear tufts and lay blue eggs. They come in bantam and standard sizes. Originating in Chile, the Araucana is said to descend from various ancient breeds or landraces native to Chile and is thought to be of pre-Columbian origin.

They are a medium sized bird, cold tolerant, are good foragers and get along well in a flock. They are generally fairly people friendly, they are said to have nice temperaments, though they are often said to be "quirky", to go along with their unusual appearance. The girls are fair to good layers and they will go broody. The APA accepts five recognized colors, Black, White, BBR, Gold and Silver Duckwing, though breeders are working on many other colors. Hatch percentage is poor, since the eartufts are caused by a gene that is lethal to the developing embryo when in a homozygous state, so they can be quite challenging for breeders.

It is on the Livestock Conservancy's Study list.

Details: When we had the Araucanas they were really good layers and we had no problem with the hens and moodiness. If we added new stock to the flock we added them at night when they were roosting. They never paid that much attention that there were more there the next morning.
One thing ours had that wasn't mentioned in the description was olive green legs. Even my Americanas have this trait in many of them. We never tried to hatch any of them, but I have great luck with my Americanas and hatching with high percentages.
50 years ago when we got ours, we were told that they were actually an African Game Chicken, so their origin is really a puzzle.
Mine are some of the best layers I have. They lay for many years and lay large to extra large eggs anywhere from olive to pastel green or blue eggs. Very hardy in all weather.

Breed purpose: Blue Eggs
Comb Type: Pea
Broodiness: Average
Climate Tolerance: Cold Hardy
Weight: Hens 4 lbs. Roosters 5.0 lbs
Egg Productivity: Good
Egg Size: Medium/Large
Egg Color: Blue



Pic by @cackleberrycoop


Pic by @cackleberrycoop


Pic by @Stacykins


Pic by @Ksane


Pic by @Kassaundra


Pic by @Ksane


Pic by @wilds of pa

BYC Breed reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/araucana

Breed discussions thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/288425/araucana-thread-anyone/0_20

Do you own Araucanas? Are you an Araucana breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!